Saturday, November 6, 2010

Student with bloody eyes will likely change schools

By JOSH GREEN

jgreen@wfla.com

Published: November 4, 2010

Updated: 11/04/2010 06:57 pm

TAMPA A 14 year-old boy who claims a school aide put him in a restraining hold that led to his eyes bleeding will likely wind up at a new school. The white part of Abdullah Fisher's eyes were still blood red today, a week after the incident at Dorothy Thomas School.

"When Abdullah was getting choked - he told him that he couldn't breathe," said Deborah Williams, his mother. "I don't want Abdullah going back to that school."

Fisher said it started last Thursday when he "smacked" paper out of his teacher's hands. Staff called in the school's resource officer, formally called an exceptional student education aide, and a scuffle escalated, according to Fisher. That aide tried to put Fisher in a time-out room, but he fought back.

"He took me up and he slammed me," Fisher said. "He had me ... in the Full Nelson move. I kept telling him I couldn't breathe."Fisher is 14, but because of a disability is on a third grade level, according to his mother. By the time he got off the bus Thursday afternoon, blood was dripping from his left eye, according to family witnesses at home.

"I had blood on my shirt," Fisher said. "The bus driver [saw] it … and asked me what happened."

Hospital paperwork shows he suffered a subconjunctival hemorrhage, which causes blood to leak from a broken vessel in the eyes. He also sustained an acute cervical strain.

By Wednesday afternoon, school administrators called Williams to set up a meeting today. A special education instructor will evaluate Fisher and his mother to see what school will fit him best. Williams said school leaders could have Fisher placed in a new school by Monday.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

West Palm Beach, Fla. - A 6 year-old boy, diagnosed with severe autism, was bitten in his own classroom at Belvedere Elementary in West Palm Beach.

"This is upsetting to us, this is the first time this particular substitute has worked in this school, and I believe in this district," said Nat Harrington, Public Information Officer with Palm Beach County Schools.

According to the school's principal, it happened in front of two other teachers, who quickly reported the incident.

It is unclear what happened to provoke the attack, but the school said the teacher bit the 6 year-old in the arm.

"We do have enough evidence to indicate that there was inappropriate behavior on the part of a substitute teacher," said Harrington.

The man, whom school district officials refused to identify, was filling in for a speech teacher in a special needs classroom.

"There is a police investigation, and there's also an employee investigation, those have just been launched," said Harrington.